Wednesday, October 29, 2014

The Iron Dome

Iron Dome remains a major part of Israel's defense strategy, including during this most recent flare-up in Gaza. Experts still hotly disagree about the capability of the Iron Dome missile defense system, and its ability to use such a small warhead to destroy inbound rockets. But that first 2012 face-off between the incoming missiles and the interceptors highlighted the real strength of Iron Dome—its brains, not its brawn. Iron Dome proved its worth by automatically identifying a never-before-seen missile in real-time battle.

...Israel's success could lead other countries to change the way they think about missile defense. "The Western doctrine of firing two interceptors for every one incoming missile will surely be scrutinized because interceptors have become more accurate, in many cases negating the need to fire a 'backup,'" USAF Lt. Col. Eddie Boxx, a visiting military fellow at The Washington Institute, wrote in July.

Interesting to learn about this technology and damn glad Israel has it and uses it.